Strawberry Tart

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I’ve been on a tart making binge lately. These little objects can be infinitely modified into all sorts of shapes, flavors, textures and even moods. My strawberry tart is practically bubbling with cheerfulness. Those pink dots were a effort of love to make but I just LOVE the effect!

What’s the best dough for tarts?

For a tart that keeps it’s shape you will want a Pâte sucrée (sweet tart dough). Made from butter, egg yolks, sugar and flour it has a rich taste and once properly rested (by freezing) it will give you a perfectly shaped tart that doesn’t puff or sag in the oven.

What tools are best for tarts?

You’ll want to buy some perforated tart rings. They are a bit pricey but they work SO well and last forever! These are the magic tart tings I used to bake the shells, I’ve started collecting them in all sorts of shapes and sized and I’m loving them.

Baking on a perforated silicone sheet can give you a perfectly baked base with no bubbling. The steam that forms underneath can escape through the side so no docking is needed!

TOP TIPS BEFORE BAKING THESE Strawberry TARTS

• Make sure to freeze the tart shells completely before baking.
• The best bake will be achieved with a perforated silicone mat and a perforated tart ring.
• The fresh strawberries will release liquid into the tart so you should serve aster assembly. If you need these to keep longer use some strawberry jam instead of the cut strawberries inside.
• The dots need to stick to the other colored pastry dough. You can brush the edge with a little water if they’ve dried out or gotten flour on them.
• You can totally use American buttercream if you want to save some time and like things a little sweeter.
• Chill that dough if it becomes unmanageable!
• Don’t be afraid to make these in stages. You can make the dough one day, do the cutting and baking the next and then assemble with filling when you’re ready to serve.

How to Make a strawberry tart

1. After your two batches of dough are chilled it’s time to start cutting the dots out. Use various sized cutting tools like piping tips and cookie cutters if you have them. Place dough covered in fridge while you work on the next batch.
2. Repeat the process for the pink dough.
3. Place the pink dots in the uncolored dough. Press down with your ginger to help them make contact. Roll dough out between parchment paper and chill.
4. Cut strips of dough and CAREFULLY remove them.
5. Cut the bases out with your pastry ring. Also cut out the tops for your tart. I cut out circles and rings.
6. Assemble tart. It’s easiest to transfer the strip into the pastry ring. Fix any problems and then place the ring onto the base. Press together, cut top flush with ring and chill in freezer. Bake tarts on a perforated silicone sheet once frozen.
7. Fill your cooled tart shells with a layer of white chocolate ganache.
8. Place strawberry pieces onto the ganache. You could use jam instead if you need to store the tarts overnight. The strawberries will weep.
9. Add a layer of Swiss buttercream and smooth out.
10. Pipe dollops on edge with a 4B tip. Pipe taller dollops by hovering the tip 1/2 and inch about the surface when you start squeezing.
11. Place the pastry ring on top of the dollops.
12. Add strawberry slices and a smaller circle of pastry inside the ring.

If you’ve tried this Strawberry tart then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

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Strawberry Tart

This striking and delicious strawberry tart has a two-tone shall, a white chocolate filling with fresh strawberries inside and on top and Swiss meringue buttercream holding it all together. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes

Chill time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 49 minutes

Servings 6 tarts

Calories 768 kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

Vanilla Tart Shell:

• 80 g confectioners sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2.5mL
• 1/2 lb all-purpose flour 225g
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 113g cold & cubed
• ¼ tsp salt 1g

Pink Tart Shell:

• 80 g confectioners sugar
• 3 Large Egg Yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2.5mL
• 1/2 lb plain flour 215g
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 113g cold & cubed
• ¼ tsp salt 1g
• 3 drops soft pink food coloring
• 2 tsp powdered strawberries optional

White Chocolate Ganache:

• 1 cup White chocolate chips 200g
• 1/2 cup Heavy cream 110g heated

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 5 egg whites at room temperature
• 2 cups unsalted butter 452g room temperature
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300g
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate

For the Assembly

• 12 Strawberries approximately
• 1 sprig fresh mint optional

Instructions

For the Tart Shell:

1. You're making two batches of pastry, one natural and one pink. Later on they will be laminated together.

For the Vanilla Dough:

1. Add the icing sugar, butter, vanilla & salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. You can also use a hand mixer.

2. Beat the mixture on a medium speed for 2 minutes until it forms a paste. Scrape down the bowl after 1 minute.

3. Add in the egg yolks and mix until fully incorporated.

4. Add in the flour, and mix on low speed until it is just combined. You want the mixture to have JUST come together.
5. Transfer the dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Add a second piece of parchment paper dusted with flour on top. Press down and then roll out to 1/8 an inch or 3mm.
6. Transfer to fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

7. Use a variety of circle cutters to cut out dots. I used circular cookie cutters and both sides of round piping tips. Let this hang out in the fridge while you work on the other dough.

For the Pink Dough

1. For the second batch, repeat the above steps. Just sift the strawberry powder in with the confectioners' sugar at the beginning. To make strawberry powder just grind up freeze dried strawberries and sift. I put them in a bag and smash with a rolling pin.

2. Use a variety of circle cutters to cut out pink dots. I used circular cookie cutters and both sides of round piping tips.

3. Now for the fun part. Place the pink dots in the holes of your uncolored dough. Once this is done cover with parchment paper and roll out to create a seal. This can be a bit tricky so peek under the paper and see how it's going. you might need to use your fingers to press things together. 

4. Place the whole sheet of pastry dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. You can repeat this process using the light colored dots in the pink dough.

5. Once the dough has chilled, remove one sheet from the fridge. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper, very lightly flour the pastry, then flip it over.
6. Peel off the remaining sheet of parchment paper, lightly flour the dough again to prevent it from sticking.
7. Using a 4.5" round perforated tart ring (or any tart ring you have) cut out 6 large circles of dough.
8. Remove the second sheet of dough from fridge. Using a sharp knife, cut long strips of dough about 7-8” long and ¾” wide.

9. CAREFULLY lift the strips and place them on the inside of the tart rings. Press them against the side so they line up with the dough at the bottom. This is the most difficult part so try not to get impatient. you might need to piece the dough together in the tart ring.

10. Press the bottom of the dough gently with your fingers to mold it to the base of the dough.
11. Cut off any excess pastry hanging over the top of the tart rings with a sharp knife.
12. Place the tart shells into the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
13. Pre-heat your oven to 320F. Place the tray with your tart shells in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the shell is almost lightly golden.
14. Remove tart shells from the oven and allow time to cool before piping so the filling does not melt.

15. Use different sized circle cutters to create the "hats" for the pastry. They should be the same size or slightly smaller than the tart itself.

For the White Chocolate Ganache:

1. Melt chocolate and cream together on low heat. Whisk together and set aside.
2. You might need to add more or less cream to achieve the desired consistency.
3. Once you’re ready to assemble your tart, transfer the ganache to a piping bag and snip off the tip.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

1. Add egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl.
2. Give the mixture a brief whisk.
3. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Making sure the water does not touch the bowl.

Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly.
4. Heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it's not grainy between your fingers. 

Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk until you get room temperature glossy peaks.
5. Switch to a paddle attachment and while the mixture is running on low, add tablespoon sized dollops of room temperature butter making sure to let the butter incorporate before you add the next piece.
6. Once all the butter is incorporated, go ahead and add the vanilla extract.
7. Reserve 2/3 of the white Swiss meringue buttercream for the topping.
8. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and allow it to cool to room temp. Add it into the rest of the batch that’s left in the stand mixer.
9. Once the chocolate is fully incorporated and you’re ready to assemble the tarts, transfer the chocolate buttercream to a piping bag and snip off the tip.

For the Assembly

1. Transfer the batch of white Swiss meringue buttercream to a piping bag fitted to a 4B (medium star) tip.

2. Once your tart shells have cooled, pipe in the first layer of chocolate ganache.

3. Slice strawberries and place over ganache.

4. Pipe a layer of the Swiss meringue buttercream over the ganache and smooth so it's level to the tart shell.

5. Use the 4B to pipe tall dollops on the edge of the tart. Place the donut-shaped hats on top of the dollops

6. Add slices of strawberries into the center then place a small pastry circle askew.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• Make sure to freeze the tart shells completely before baking.
• The best bake will be achieved with a perforated silicone mat and a perforated tart ring.
• The fresh strawberries will release liquid into the tart so you should serve aster assembly. If you need these to keep longer use some strawberry jam instead of the cut strawberries inside.
• The dots need to stick to the other colored pastry dough. You can brush the edge with a little water if they've dried out or gotten flour on them.
• You can totally use American buttercream if you want to save some time and like things a little sweeter.

Nutrition Facts

Strawberry Tart

Amount Per Serving (1 tart)

Calories 768 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 28g 43%

Saturated Fat 16g 80%

Cholesterol 19mg 6%

Sodium 212mg 9%

Potassium 82mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 49g 16%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 28g

Protein 5.6g 11%

Calcium 2%

Iron 5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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